Marriage Problems

Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca turned to writing plays in part because he believed that "theatre is poetry that rises from the book and becomes human enough to talk and shout, weep and despair." His rustic tragedy, Blood Wedding, does all of these things in turn. A Bridegroom is preparing for his wedding day, but his Mother discovers the Bride had a prior relationship with a member of the family that killed her husband. The feud continues to this day, so Mother goes to meet with the Bride's family in hopes of finding the girl acceptable even with this character flaw. She does, and the wedding goes off without a hitch -- except for the fact that the Bride's former paramour, Leonardo, is enraged that she would marry anyone other than himself, despite the fact that he's currently married to another woman. Driven by jealousy and passion, Leonardo crashes the wedding reception and he and the Bride run away to the forest together. But above the woods hangs the Moon, angry at her solitude now that people live indoors, and she demands a sacrifice of blood to slake her thirst ... who among these people will die so that the Moon is satisfied? Upstream Theater opens its seventh season with Langston Hughes' translation of Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding at the Kranzberg Arts Center (501 North Grand Boulevard; 314-863-4999 or www.upstreamtheater.org). Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (October 7 through 22) with further shows at 7 p.m. Sunday (October 9 and 16) and at 3 p.m. Sunday, October 23. Tickets are $20 to $25.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Oct. 7. Continues through Oct. 23, 2011